Havenly adds $5.8 million as demand for online design attracts VCs

For $79 to $199, design-challenged dwellers can hire a professional designer to offer a much nicer look than a futon, milk crates and an old roommate’s yucky rug. Pictured: Two designer renderings for the same room, courtesy of Havenly.

By fulfilling the decorating desires of design-challenged dwellers on a budget, Denver’s Havenly picked up another $5.8 million from investors, bringing the amount of venture capital raised since November to 13.3 million, the company will announce Tuesday.

The online interior design firm, which links consumers with interior designers, plans to use the funds to hire more people and invest in technology and operations.

Emily Motayed, Havenly’s cofounder and chief revenue officer, cites an affordable rate and accessible service — clients never meet with designers in person — as the appeal that has helped Havenly grow, especially with younger clients.

“Our generation has been using technology that traditionally has not (been offered by) analog services,” Motayed said. “On top of that, it’s easy and convenient.”

According to Havenly, which Motayed started with sister Lee Mayer and friend Jessie Dixon in 2014, revenues are up 900 percent year over year. Havenly has grown from three people to about 30 today. Some of the new funds will be used to hire about eight people by this summer.

Havenly charges $79 to $199 to clients who need a room designed. It also earns money by selling furniture and decorative items suggested by the professional designer. Clients work with designers online, which helps make the service affordable. Motayed said that a typical in-person meeting with a professional designer is $150 an hour.

Tamara Chuang covers personal technology and local tech news for The Denver Post. She previously spent 10 years doing the same thing for The Orange County Register before taking a hiatus to move here and become a SAHM to a precocious toddler.